Episode description
David Hockney has captured the unfolding of Spring during the pandemic, creating 116 new works on his ipad which have been blown up for a new exhibition at London’s Royal Academy. Art critic Ben Luke reviews the prolific 83 year old’s new work. He also discusses the shortlist for this year’s Turner Prize; for the first time, no one on the list is an individual artist: they are all artist collectives.
A new BBC TV drama, Three Families, is set in Northern Ireland looks at the controversial and divisive subject of abortion. Northern Ireland was exempted from the UK’s 1967 Abortion Act and had some of the most restrictive policies in Europe. 2 years ago when the Stormont Assembly was dissolved and decision-making powers transferred to Westminster, MPs in London voted overwhelmingly to change the law and ease access to abortion. This series fictionalises the stories of three women and their personal involvement in the campaign to liberalise the law. We speak with the writer of the 2 part series, Gwyneth Hughes.
Irish writer Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul, discusses his second novel, Panenka, about 50-year-old former footballer who has spent 25 years unable to escape from one critical and very public error which made him an exile in his home town.
Main image: David Hockney
Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones